"Who is Robyn? You talk like you know she's behind this, whatever is going on." Otso waved his hand to indicate the Murphy's. "Stop dancing around the questions damn it! You tricked your way into her room, you interrogated her and you yourself refuse to answer a single question directly and honestly. Are you allergic to a straight conversation?"

Dennis flipped the school’s intercom back on and leaned over the microphone. “Robyn. Headmaster’s office. Now.” Flipping it back off, he turned to see a gaggle of his classmates staring at him.

“Better start explaining, Dennis,” offered Violet. She gave the Swiss teen a pointed stare. “You’re going to want to get your story straight before Otso gets here.” She turned and saw Otso standing behind his girlfriend, then flashed a sarcastic smirk. “Whoops. Too late.”

The Finn stared daggers at Dennis. “He used his illusions to trick his way into Bea’s room, then barred the door, and refused to leave until she explained to him how she learned her magic.”

“And when I did not give ‘im ze answer ‘e ‘ad decided was true, ‘e proceeded to ‘arass me.”

“He claimed the headmaster know about his and Martin’s… ‘investigation’…” Otso spat the last word angrily.

Newton—still exasperated from the administrative assistant’s advances and holding her in his office—opened his mouth to explain, only for Dennis to answer for him: “An exaggeration at most. It’s not as if the headmaster doesn’t know who Robyn is or on whose behalf she came here for. I don’t know if the Aurelius specified thee ‘why’, but it’s not unreasonable.”

“Who is Robyn?” Otso asked. “You talk like you know she’s behind this—whatever is going on!” Otso waved his hand to the man frozen to the spot and the door holding back a crazed woman. “Stop dancing around the questions, dammit! You tricked your way into her room, you interrogated her, and you yourself refuse to answer a single question directly and honestly! Are you allergic to a straight conversation?”

The main door opened and Martin walked in, tapping on his phone.

“Robyn is an agent of the Aurelius,” Newton said. His tone was louder than normal, as though he expected he might have to talk over any arguing parties. “There are students here who have enemies in the magical community. Several times we’ve come under attack by a group of mages. We presume that their targets are some of your classmates who themselves possess a magical heritage—a heritage they themselves are unaware of. To protect them, the Aurelius long ago installed magical wards around the campus. However, those wards have dissipated. While the Aurelius investigates who is behind this, he installed Robyn here to act as an emissary.”

Tamati and Shelby approached, having just come from the cafeteria.

“For some time, the theory has been that these mages are working with someone on the inside. Dennis, Robyn, and Martin were investigating the possibility that our enemies have a mole inside the school-”

“It’s me!”

Newton froze and followed the sound of the voice. “Pardon me?” he asked. “Can you… say that again?”

“It’s me,” said the voice from the other side of the door. “I’m the mole.

“I’m a member of Crux who has been supplying them with information on the students,” said Lilian Murphy cheerily.

Anyone here can make a DC 15 Notice check to catch that Beatrice’s face flashes with worry when Newton mentions: “Several times we’ve come under attack by a group of mages. We presume that their targets are some of your classmates who themselves possess a magical heritage—a heritage they themselves are unaware of. To protect them, the Aurelius long ago installed magical wards around the campus.”

As Kirstie grabbed Steven’s ankles, Martin emerged from the earth, evoking a scream from the blonde. Jack watched as Kirstie dropped the sophomore’s ankles, leaving Lex holding his brother’s wrists.

Jack looked them all over: the single drop of blood he had come to know as a sign for Neo-Sapiens hung over Lex and Kirstie’s heads; a beaker was suspended over Martin’s head—a symbol he had only ever seen over Anne Newton and Ganze.

There was no symbol above Steven Murphy. Jack’s countryman was a normal, ordinary human with no abilities of his own. Were it not for Ms. Grave’s daughter, he would have been the only human student at the school.

Jack also read their emotions. He saw the auras around Lex and Martin. He saw hue around Kirstie and knew it to mean that she was anxious and confused.

Other students were trickling out of the dorms—no doubt drawn out of their rooms by Violet’s curious broadcast. Across the quad, Jack watched as Pirjo shuffled out. She had the same blood drop as the other Neo-Sapiens, but there was a black aura around her. Worse, he could see a faint glow over her heart. That glow only appeared over injuries—when someone was cut or sporting a broken bone…

Something was wrong with Pirjo’s heart.

Jack made a frustrated sounding sigh as he looked at the Finnish girl; he had a real good idea what was wrong with her, but with everything he'd been juggling she'd unfortunately fallen to the wayside. Jack made a mental note to talk to Otso about trying to help Pirjo, perhaps he had an idea of what they could do.

Looking over the Murphy brothers and their company, it seemed to Jack that things were under control and he decided to not stop in his journey to the Headmaster's office.

I'm editing this scene to include Jack and Lex's entry, then show the scene from Lex's POV.

Also, hero point to Lex.

NVAE, MAIN OFFICE (Dennis, Jack, Lex, Martin, Otso, Tamati, Violet; NPCs: Beatrice, Dwight Kowalski [unconscious], Isaac Newton, J.R., Kirstie, Lillian Murphy, Roger Murphy [snared], Shelby, Steven [unconscious])
“Who is Robyn?” Otso asked. “You talk like you know she’s behind this—whatever is going on!” Otso waved his hand to the man frozen to the spot and the door holding back a crazed woman. “Stop dancing around the questions, dammit! You tricked your way into her room, you interrogated her, and you yourself refuse to answer a single question directly and honestly! Are you allergic to a straight conversation?”

The main door opened and Jack let Martin in ahead of him; the Frenchman was tapping on his phone.

“Robyn is an agent of the Aurelius,” Newton said. His tone was louder than normal, as though he expected he might have to talk over any arguing parties. “There are students here who have enemies in the magical community. Several times we’ve come under attack by a group of mages. We presume that their targets are some of your classmates who themselves possess a magical heritage—a heritage they themselves are unaware of. To protect them, the Aurelius long ago installed magical wards around the campus. However, those wards have dissipated. While the Aurelius investigates who is behind this, he installed Robyn here to act as an emissary.”

Tamati and Shelby approached, having just come from the cafeteria.

“For some time, the theory has been that these mages are working with someone on the inside. Dennis, Robyn, and Martin were investigating the possibility that our enemies have a mole inside the school-”

“It’s me!”

Newton froze and followed the sound of the voice. “Pardon me?” he asked. “Can you… say that again?”

“It’s me,” said the voice from the other side of the door. “I’m the mole.

“I’m a member of Crux who has been supplying them with information on the students,” said Lilian Murphy cheerily.

The doors opened again, letting Lex and J.R. carry an unconscious Steven inside.

As Kirstie bent down to hoist Steven up by his ankles once more, a hand fell onto her shoulder. “I got this.” She turned and saw J.R., Vlad and Ellen’s son from an alternate future. She stepped away, eyeing the stout youth like one might a viper, coiled and hissing. It wasn’t the first time Lex had seen her react this way: she did it whenever Shelby, Nate, or any other child of a classmate was around.

J.R. picked up Steven and nodded for Lex to lead the way. Together, they carried Steven into the school, only to find everyone standing in the hall. His father was frozen in ice and Newton was barring the door to his own office.

Silence answered her. "Is that the Lear girl?" asked Lilian Murphy. "No, dear. I had nothing to do with that one. That would be Wolf. I did tell them about Mister Curie's radiation problem, and his girlfriend's psychological condition, and everything in every one of you little freaks' files."

Mrs. Murphy's honest admittance of working with the anyi-Neo group bright Jack's blood to a boiling point, as his body bulked up he pushed his way towards the door she was behind. The look on his face making his goal clear - he wanted to face the woman without any barriers between them.

Just posting Jack's reaction, anyone can feel free to intervine.

Last edited by Tattooedman on Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Dennis cocked his head, his lips tightening to a thin line. This was unexpected and unpleasant, but he saw Beatrice's reaction there. He knew this was just a sideshow element. "I feel sorry for Lex. But I'm curious as to how you miraculously acquired the the arcane knowledge to be able to understand the wards, or why you'd be willing to aid other SPBs in their efforts to capture the Caspians."

Dennis' voice was the epitome of skepticism.

It's not like Newton would have put information about the Tharivols like that into the files, right?

Martin caught the look on Beatrice's face. "Dennis please, one zing at a time. I'm sure she's coming to understand the gravity of ze magical situation."

Martin had seen that look on Jack's face before. It was a long step for him before the Frenchman stood between the raging American and the door where the Crux-mole Murphy was. "Please Jack. She's being cooperative. We can learn more from 'er." Martin says in low, reasonable tones.

"Mrs. Murphy, I'm sorry you feel zat way. I understand zis transition and disruption in your life must 'ave been exceedingly 'ard on you. 'Ow would you contact your 'andler wiz Crux and why are you coming forward wiz zis now?" Martin asks through the door. He offers an apologetic look to Lex.

One minute everything can make sense. And then your whole world just crumbles down around you.

One minute you're laughing with your friends watching a crappy movie. The next Black Box is kicking in your door and ending everything. Nothing in your life would ever be the same.

One minute he was trying to figure out if Martin was making a joke, or just so impossibly earnest that he didn't even realize the humor of the situation. He was trying to figure out why the love of his life was afraid of JR. He was going to drag his deadbeat brother into the office, find the culprit and save his family, god dammit.

And then he was forced to listen as his Mom cheerfully described betraying all the people he'd been trying to protect for the last year. The people who'd saved her life!

And his world shattered.

No matter what happened now nothing would ever be the same again.

He wanted to scream, deny it. But Kirtstie's dad had told him there was a leak. He'd tried to warn the staff but he'd thought it was Steve.

He reached for the anger that had sustained him but it slipped between his fingers like so much smoke. All he could feel was betrayed.

He vaguely heard Martin talking and looked in his direction, but the world had slipped away from him. He just stood there, numbly holding up his brother as tears rolled down his eyes.

The doors opened again, letting Lex and J.R. carry an unconscious Steven inside.

Jack’s body bulked up. He moved to push Martin out of the way—to get to the door Newton was standing in front of. It took little effort for the viscous teen to move around his American friend and the headmaster. “Please Jack.” Martin’s voice was low; his tone was reasonable. “She's being cooperative. We can learn more from 'er."

Jack wasn’t the only one riled by this reveal, and despite what had happened with the Armada, Martin could only be one place at a time.

Violet's face turned red and she spun toward the office door. Thoughts of her kidnapping along with Jakob, Mike and Rose flared her temper. "For how long? Did you give me up to them?"

Silence answered her. "Is that the Lear girl?" asked Lilian Murphy. "No, dear. I had nothing to do with that one. That would be Wolf. I did tell them about Mister Curie's radiation problem, and his girlfriend's psychological condition, and everything in every one of you little freaks' files."

Lex froze. J.R. looked to him sadly. Kirstie moved to grab him, but hesitated.

"Oh, my dear Isaac... I'm saying that if I had access to it, I passed it on to Crux."

"Mrs. Murphy, I'm sorry you feel zat way. I understand zis transition and disruption in your life must 'ave been exceedingly 'ard on you. 'Ow would you contact your 'andler wiz Crux and why are you coming forward wiz zis now?"

“Which freak show is that?” asked the mole. “Isaac love, be a dear and send it away.”

“I feel sorry for Lex,” Dennis said, turning his gaze to Beatrice, “but I'm curious as to how you miraculously acquired the the arcane knowledge to be able to understand the wards, or why you'd be willing to aid other SPBs in their efforts to capture the Caspians."

“Jesus Christ, kid,” J.R. said. “Learn to read a room.”

“I already told you ‘oo, but zat did not confirm what you suspect! Zat I am conspiring against Fiore and Rose! Zat’s as insane as you are!”

"Dennis please, one zing at a time. I'm sure she's coming to understand the gravity of ze magical situation."

“Neither of you are helping,” growled the headmaster. It was a tone Martin had never heard from the man: agitation mixed potently with raw, unbridled rage. If he had to bet, he would have said the news of his assistant’s treachery was the catalyst, but the man was right: this wasn’t helping things.

The headmaster saw more figures approaching: Doctors Bacon, Fisher, and Yavorshak. “Jack and...” He looked to Otso, then to Tamati. “...Tamati, help Doctor Bacon tend to Mister Kowalski. Dennis, wait in Doctor Fisher’s office. Martin, the library. Otso, Mister McClanahan’s classroom. Beatrice, Ms. Catargi’s. Doctor Yavorshak, escort Lex and Kirstie to your office. Violet, please seal off the doors and windows to my office. J.R., please see to supplying Mister Murphy with bonds less harmful than ice. I suspect Steven will need the same treatment. Shelby, please make sure no one enters the building. Tell them I have postponed classes for the time being. Doctor Fisher, a word?”

I’m pausing in case anyone has plans other than what Newton just barked out.

Feeling like he and Shelby had stepped into a madhouse Tamati just wasn't sure what the hell was going, the secretary was tied up and claiming to be helping Crux which from the reaction from some of the other students and the Headmaster was some sort of big no no and some other students were literally at each others throats.

But none of that was important compared to what had happen in the cafe.

Otso squeezed Beatrice's hand reassuringly as he tried to follow the situation rapidly devolving into chaos. He glared angrily at Dennis continuing to try and get information out of Beatrice in the midst of it all.

Then headmaster Newton said the name "Mister Kowalski" and Otso snapped to attention. In all the confusion he'd completely missed the prone form. The man looked so much like his dad that for one hopeful moment he thought there'd been some kind of misunderstanding but then he remembered the plans of his uncle coming to the school.

He didn't understand why the headmaster wanted to separate them and he especially didn't want to leave Bea's side. Before he could make up his mind one way or the other, Tamati offered his own insight. A love potion, that's what was causing all of this?

Lex wouldn't budge. Kirstie put a hand on his back and rubbed slowly. "It's not true," she said. "It's my aunt making her say this. I don't get what her endgame is, but she's trying to tear apart your family."

"Oh, shit!" Tamati exclaimed. "Where's Robyn?"

J.R. looked up to his fellow refuge. "What does she have to do with anything?" he asked.

"I thought she was coming here after she vanished in the cafe. Robyn added something to Royce's drink and he is now randy as for Patrick. She said it was some sort of love potion."

Shelby nodded in agreement. "She said she was wearing her marriage counselor hat, too."

Newton sighed. "Dennis and Beatrice, wait. You too, Martin." The headmaster looked to the headmistress. "Missus Murphy is spontaneously infatuated with me. Her husband appears to be enamored with Doctor Yavorshak. They are zealous in their affections--so much so that Mister Murphy attacked our guest when he thought he was competition for the doctor's affections. I suspected psychic or magical attack, but Tamati seems to imply that Robyn has used a sort of love potion on others... It would fit that the same potion was used on the Murphys.

"No one is to eat or drink anything until we get this sorted. We need this chaos contained. Martin, examine Mister Murphy--see if there is a way of manufacturing an antidote to the potion Robyn allegedly use. Dennis and Beatrice, I'll ask you to work separately to determine if there is a magical method of undoing this. Jack and Otso, please locate Robyn. She can turn invisible and intangible. Do not engage her." He sighed. "She's very stubborn, too. If you threaten her or order her, she'll work to make sure you regret it. Just... locate her and ask her to see me at her earliest convenience."

It hit him suddenly: Robyn had left Tamati and Shelby in the cafeteria. Robyn put the potion into Royce's drink. Dennis had ordered her to the main office. "She's still in the cafeteria," he said, exasperated. "J.R.! Violet! Tamati! You're with me!"

The headmaster took off at a run for the refectory...

Everyone can roll a Sense Motive, DC 20.

EDIT: I keep neglecting to do this, too: hero points to Dennis and Lex. Dennis has slowly been committing social suicide this chapter and Lex...
Well, that should be obvious...